Furniture

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FURNITURE

If you stop in to view the couches at South Coast Plaza's new Environment Furniture store, be aware of one thing: The patches and stains on the upholstery are not the result of unruly customers or a mishap at the warehouse. Rather, those blemishes came all the way from Brazil, where the canvas that now lines Environment Furniture's couches once served as tarp on flat-bed trucks. The furniture store, which opened on the Bear Street side of the mall this week, offers strictly organic and recycled materials, and very few of the products look like they just toppled off the assembly line.

When her mother's 150-year-old mirror broke, Santa Ana resident Marjorie Gorrie thought she would have bad luck getting it fixed. But Mauro and Franco Fallani assessed the badly damaged gold leaf frame and applied some century-old techniques. With that and some patience, the father and son antique restoration team were able to repair the heirloom. Almost 13 years ago, Mauro and son Franco immigrated to the United States from Italy, where their family had been restoring antiques since the 19th century.

In the next week or two, Brandon Birtcher, of Birtcher Development and Investments, said he will be set to announce that the company's new development, the South Coast Home Furnishings Centre, is 90% leased. Construction and lease agreements are all right on schedule for the $90-million shopping center's July 2007 opening date. But customers are already taking advantage of one of the center's stores, which opened the day after Thanksgiving. Wickes Furniture moved into a new and improved space at the Hyland Street shopping center from its old location at Gisler Street and Harbor Boulevard, which will be open for a few more months as a clearance center.

NEWPORT BEACH — Lynne Langjahr and Jose Ahamirano perused the fairly new Ligne Roset store in Fashion Island on Friday in search of new lighting for their Newport Beach home. But it wasn't their first time in the store. Two or three times before, they came in search of light. Langjahr and Ahamirano are just two of many residents who have perused the store since it opened in June. After just five months at the Atrium Court, store manager Anne Chung said the business has attracted young and old customers alike with its modern designs that marry form and functionality while keeping clean, sleek lines.

Barclay Butera Home celebrates its one-year anniversary on Tuesday. Stop by to check out the latest home interiors and taste some great coffee and cookies provided by Martin Diedrich of Kean Coffee. This showroom features selections of furniture from the Barclay Butera Home Furnishings collection, which has a contemporary look. There are more than 80 styles of furniture and 300 different textiles to choose from. That allows you to customize pieces to fit your needs. Don't miss the brilliant orange back room, where a 72-inch, round, custom-built pedestal dining table takes center stage.

GREER WYLDER The most stylish home furnishings store to open in Newport in years, d. kruse, debuted last month in the Lido Village area. Co-owners Dee and Randy Kruse have fashioned their store as a place to find fresh looks to enhance stodgy interiors. Before opening d. kruse, the couple operated a local upscale design house for nine years, creating d. kruse furniture and accessories and offering interior-design service. "So many of our clients say they're just plain tired of traditional interiors," Randy Kruse said.

Alicia Robinson Linda Johnston is probably more fond of dolls than most adults. She also likes tea sets, jewelry, furniture and quilts -- as long as they're antiques. But her love affair with relics, both venerable and obsolete, will come to an end this fall when Johnston and her business partner Pat Alsenz close Castle Antiques after 20 years in Costa Mesa. Johnston, 56, and her husband are thinking about retiring and plan to move to Oregon in November, and Alsenz is ready to retire too, Johnston said.

GREER WYLDER Patina Boutique is having a great sale Saturday and Sunday with merchandise reduced 20% to 50%. Patina offers a fun and funky mix of apparel, jewelry and accessories carefully selected by owner and jewelry designer Jenny Johnson. She's known for her vintage pendants with semi-precious stones. The shabby cottage, located in the parking lot behind the Washington Mutual at East 17th Street and Orange Avenue, is a showcase of designer clothing, shoes, bathing suits, vintage furniture and baby items.